KARACHI: Poet and writer Anwer Ahsan Siddiqui presented his novel ‘Lahu phir tapka’ at Karachi Press Club on Monday.

Prof Saher Ansari chaired the proceedings while speakers included Jamal Naqvi Alig, Asrar Hussain, Fahmida Riaz, and Zabe Azkar Husain, secretary literary committee of the club.

The first speaker on the book was the author himself, who elaborated the theme of the novel based on the life in Karachi— the small sea-side town turning into a mega city after the Great Divide and the surging population.

The writer said that he had seen the city growing with corruption, lust for easy money and poor governance, plunged into lawlessness, and crimes of all description.

Both Asrar Husain and Jamal Naqvi discussed the technical qualities of the novel and also the narrative, so close to the realities.

Prof Ansari recalled his friendly relationship with the author spread over many decades. He said that Mr Anwar in his early youth had brought out a literary journal in 1950s, which had been patronised by Baba-i-Urdu Molvi Abdul Haq.

He was of the view that very little had been written about Karachi. After the publication of Quratulain Haider’s novel ‘Housing Society’, Shaukat Siddiqui did the first real attempt to cover the lives of uprooted people living in Khudadad Colony and the populace around. Stories were written during the years of terror and turmoil in the 80s by Hameed Kashmiri and Commander Anwer but the need to be written about Karachi was still there.

Ms Fahmida Riaz mentioned her long story published recently in the journal ‘Aaj’ about Karachi. She lamented that Karachi was a ravaged and traumatised city, its resources were exploited by everyone but there was nobody to own it. It was said that after the oil ship’s spillage and the immense environmental disaster, no one was to be blamed, or responsible to repair the loss.

An article on the book from Mr Hameed Akhter, in his absence, was read out by Razzaq Maikash. Senior fiction writer Shamshad Ahmad also spoke on the occasion.—Hasan Abdi